A lawsuit has accused PepsiCo and Walmart of working together to artificially inflate the costs of PepsiCo soft drinks at other retailers over the past decade.
The proposed class action lawsuit was filed Monday in a federal court in New York, Reuters reported. The complaint alleged that the food and beverage giant offered the retail titan preferential wholesale pricing and other incentives — while raising wholesale prices for rival retailers.
The moves, in effect, eliminated price competition and violated antitrust law. The proposed class action reportedly seeks to cover all U.S. consumers who purchased Pepsi soft drinks from other retailers since the beginning of 2015 — potentially millions of people.
The new filing follows the recent unsealing of a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission during the Biden administration that accused Pepsi alone of violating federal law on price discrimination. The lawsuit was dropped under the Trump administration in May.
PepsiCo told Reuters in a statement that the company operates “in compliance with applicable laws” and is committed to “fair, competitive and non-discriminatory pricing.” Walmart said in its statement that it was "committed to negotiating on behalf of our customers so we can deliver value and everyday low prices."
